Bob Phillips of the syndicated travel show, 'Texas Country Reporter,' is a staple of the Texas Emmys. Photo: Phillips Productions.

Bob Phillips of the syndicated travel show, 'Texas Country Reporter,' is a staple of the Texas Emmys. Photo: Phillips Productions.

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S.A. to host Emmy ceremony

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San Antonio will host the Texas Emmys this year for the first time in the awards' 11-year history.

A city spokesman called the “get” a coup because it has the potential to draw invaluable attention to the Alamo City.

“Any time we have a group that has sizable media connections like this one, there's the potential of adding awareness of our city,” said Andres Muñoz, vice president of marketing and communications for the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Lone Star Chapter of the Emmys will hold its annual awards gala on Nov. 9 at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio, local board member Julie Coan confirmed Thursday. The ceremony, presented by the state chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, honors excellent work by anchors, reporters, weathercasters, series producers, documentary makers and other professionals in 19 Texas television markets.

“Usually the awards show rotates between Dallas and Houston, so we're very excited to be hosting it here,” said Coan, KLRN-TV's chief operating officer, who has been on the board of the Lone Star Chapter for 10 years.

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Last year, the Lone Star Chapter celebrated its 10th anniversary by holding its awards at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

“Right on the field!” Coan said. “It was pretty spectacular, so we wanted to keep the excitement going by changing things up.”

Bob Phillips, host and producer of the award-winning travel program “Texas Country Reporter,” brought up the idea of coming to San Antonio.

“At last year's Emmys, Bob made a comment to Terry Markis, administrative director for the chapter,” Coan said. “'What are you going to do to top this?' he said. He suggested, 'Why don't we do it at the Alamo?' That triggered the thought of San Antonio.”

Since the event takes place on a Saturday night, nominees usually arrive in the host city the night before and stay in hotels. It's not the number of attendees — estimated to be about 550 — but the nature of their business that makes them so attractive to the tourism industry.

When an event “involves opinion leaders like news folks,” Muñoz said, it adds up to high exposure for a city. “If they have a good experience, it pays off, they then see San Antonio as an option for many other possibilities beyond their event.”

Though the Emmy ceremony won't be open to the public, it still provides “great people-watching possibilities,” Coan said. “The news anchors and other nominees look like a million dollars when they show up.”